Bathrooms – planning for the future

Bathrooms can’t be refurbished every year, so make sure you plan ahead for future use. To find out more visit http://www.utopiamag.co.uk/

Bathrooms can be expensive to refurbish, so you’re not going to be spending money every year on keeping your bathroom up-to-date. This means that you need to think ahead and plan, if you can, for the way you will use your bathrooms in the next 3-5 years or more.

• The couple’s bathroom – if you are a newly married couple or in a partnership that is settled, it’s lovely to be able to create bathrooms that you can enjoy. If you want to start a family in the near future, you might want to think about how that will affect the way you use your bathroom. You might choose to put in a bath with an overhead shower, for example, rather than just a shower cubicle, so that you can bathe children easily without having to spend money on changing your bathroom.

• The growing family – as families grow, so the bathroom usage changes. Children move from having baths to having showers and of course, they are growing all the time. As they reach their teenage years, they are demanding more time in the bathroom, and so you might want to consider adding bathrooms to your home if you have the space, rather than adapting your existing bathroom. Make sure that shower cubicles are spacious enough for growing kids and that there’s plenty of storage space for all those teenage toiletries.

• Empty-nesters – if you have children who have left home, you might find that you’re re-doing your bathrooms at a time when the house is much quieter. This is the time when you can design your bathrooms with you in mind. Go for the luxury bath or extra-large shower cubicle you’ve always wanted, or use a newly-empty bedroom to create a really stunning larger bathroom.

• Safety first – if you’re planning to stay in your home well into retirement, it may be worth thinking about how your bathroom can be used when you have less mobility. Making sure the floor is level and has a non-slip covering, along with handles on the bath and easy-to-use shower enclosures can all help to ensure that you can stay in your home easily without having to spend money re-configuring your bathroom later on.

Branch out and Give Your Garden a Make Over with Artificial Grass

Artificial turf grass is the easy way to transform your average garden into an horticultural haven.

A lazy Sunday can be ruined by the menial task of having to mow the lawn.  However, mowing can now be made a thing of the past by replacing your lawn with artificial grass.  A common question that surrounds artificial grass is why?  Well, there is a multitude of reasons as to why artificial grass is the nicer and cleaner alternative to the traditional turf, especially if you have children. 

Children plus Pets plus Mud equals a Lethal Combination

Every parent knows the amount of washing that can accumulate as a result of playing in the mud.  If a family has pets as well as children than this can be made even worse with muddy paw prints ending up on the brand new sitting room carpet.  If this sounds familiar then artificial grass should be a serious consideration for your home.  Artificial grass looks the same but eradicates the mud aspect meaning you can have a sparkling clean house as well as a constantly fresh looking lawn 

Why Scrap Real Grass for Artificial Grass?

If the sole fact that your house will be saved from an involuntary mud bath is not enough to convince you that artificial grass is the way forward, there are plenty of other reasons why any family should consider switching to artificial grass.  These include:

·         Artificial grass is easy to install

·         It looks the part once it has been laid. 

·         Artificial grass is also clean and safe for children to play on

·         Very easy to maintain

·         No need for watering

Installation of artificial grass is very easy and it can even be laid on slopes making it fitting for most gardens.  As well as this, it feels very soft under foot.  No wonder so many families nationwide are going artificial!

Bathrooms – The Battle of the Sexes

Men and women are, the cliché goes, from different planets – and perhaps the room that most illustrates these differences (and battles) are our bathrooms.  To find out more visit http://www.home-designing.com/2011/02/modern-bathrooms-designs-ideas-pictures

Bathrooms can become much-fought over rooms for couples. The myth is women spend hours and hours in bathrooms, whereas men are in and out. But research shows that the time spent in bathrooms by both sexes is quite similar; although men and women do differ on what they do in their bathrooms. According to research published in the Daily Mail newspaper, women spend six months in a lifetime going to the toilet, with few women wasting time flicking through magazines or reading on the loo. Men however spend an average of three years on the loo in their bathrooms – 40 minutes a day! You'd better make sure you love your bathroom if you're going to give it this kind of attention!

Bathrooms – Men and Women Dividing Time

But if women out there are using this statistic to insist their menfolk take more responsibility cleaning the bathrooms, it's worth considering that although on average men take six months in their lifetimes getting ready, women take two years (a conservative estimate some might add). The average women spends ten minutes in the shower, compared to the 11 minutes it takes a man to shower, shave and do his hair (although that time almost trebles to 32 minutes if he's going on a date). Meanwhile, women are spending an additional 30 minutes in their bathrooms putting on make-up, 24 minutes styling their hair and another 26 minutes decided what to wear and dressing (although not necessarily in their bathrooms).

Bathroom Products not just for Women

As well as time spent in bathrooms, the sexes are always moaning about bathroom products – the idea however that men only have a handful of bathroom products, whereas women are drowning in bottles and make-up is probably true – but men are quickly catching up as the male cosmetic industry continues to boom.

Battles over Bathrooms

With all these battles going on over bathrooms, it's no wonder that research has found that both sexes use their bathrooms as escapism – as a place to go for peace and quiet, a place to think, or as an opportunity to spend time to themselves.

Alarm Systems for Business

You may have insurance to cover theft or damage to your business, but it will normally stipulate that you have some form of alarm system.

 

Many businesses worry about installing a security alarm system, thinking that it may be too expensive, take up valuable staff time in training, and may never be used. On the contrary, however, companies can install an alarm system in a small business in a day or two, without interfering with the way you run your business. For businesses where computer use is high, employees are easily able to understand a small keypad and training each member of staff on how to set the alarm at night or turn it off in the morning is very time-efficient.

You could also be surprised at how reasonable the cost of a commercial fire alarm system is. Depending on the type of office building, and the sort of alarm system and smoke vents you need, companies can provide a free quotation that will include all the components of the system, the installation and training, and an annual maintenance fee.

For businesses, it is advisable to have an alarm system that is connected to a central monitoring station. This will give your business added protection, have a positive effect on your insurance premium, and give you peace of mind that your business is covered during weekends, holidays and overnight. You will need to nominate a small number of key holders, who will be contacted by the monitoring station when the alarm goes off. If none of your key holders are available, the call will be referred to the police.

Theft from offices usually takes the form of computer and electrical equipment, and sometimes stock, depending on the type of business you are in. Not only does this incur the cost of replacing the items, it may also mean that you can’t fulfill orders, or deliver goods. Good alarm systems help to prevent these sorts of break-ins, making your business more secure all round.

Bathrooms - Welcome to the Bizarre

 Just when you thought that the gadgets found in bathrooms up and down the country couldn’t get any more bizarre or useless; think again. A recent report on PCMag.com looks at some truly odd gadgets for bathrooms including led strip lights.

 

Gone are the days where having an electric razor in bathrooms would be seen as the pinnacle of gadgetry. A report on PCMag.com takes a look in the bathrooms of some gadgetry inclined homeowners of today and discovers that bathrooms are now one of the most bizarre gadgets filled rooms in the home. Bathrooms are obviously a room that is primed for innovative designs but looking at some of the stranger gadgets to pop up in bathrooms would certainly appear to buck this trend.

Bathrooms - A Question of Taste

Bathrooms tend to be the one room in the home where people let their individuality and design flair run loose and this is often mirrored through the choice of gadgetry that many homeowners stock their bathrooms with. According to the report on PCMag.com, amongst the stranger pieces of gadgetry to be found in bathrooms includes:

·       LED Taps - Many find that bathrooms that boast LED (light emitting device) taps are highly stress relieving and can really add a unique sense of style to a bathroom. The LED’s will illuminate the running water in bathrooms to a colour of your choosing.

·       Toilet Seat Lifter - The ideal gadget in the bathrooms of the lazy homeowners out there. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Namely, lifting the toilet seat automatically so you don’t have to bend over and do it manually.

·       Vibrating Soap - This is surely one of the stranger cleaning implements to be found in bathrooms. This bizarre contraption begins to vibrate when it is removed from its holder and gets to work on aches and pains as you wash. Vibrating soap is becoming increasingly popular in bathrooms across the UK and USA.

Bathrooms – Home or Away

Some people love their home bathrooms, others can’t wait to get away and enjoy the luxury of a hotel bathroom. Which do you prefer? To find out more visit http://padstyle.com/category/bathroom

When it comes to this choice of bathrooms, most people would say they love the novelty and luxury of enjoying a hotel en-suite, whilst some say they prefer having all their home comforts to hand. This guide will show you the pros and cons of both, to help you decide which bathroom you’d rather spend more of your time in.

Bathrooms at Home: pros

• Your own bathroom feels familiar and comfortable, and you can feel completely relaxed here.

• You know where all your bathroom’s essentials are kept, and have all your beauty products to hand.

• Provided you’ve taken time to create a bathroom you like, you’ll enjoy the surroundings and décor.

• You know exactly what’s happened in the bathroom before you’ve used it – any hair down the plug hole will be yours!

Bathrooms at Home: cons

• If you have a family you’ll either have to queue for the bathroom, or will get a bang on the door just as you’re sinking into a hot bubble bath.

• Your busy lifestyle means you may not have time to clean the bathroom as efficiently as you’d like, and it could be a little grubby.

• If you live on a busy street, you’ll have to listen to traffic sounds as you try and wind down in the bath.

• If anything goes wrong, like a hot water shortage or a blocked drain, you’re going to have to fix it yourself.

Bathrooms in Hotels: pros

• Provided it’s a good hotel, you’ll have a sparkling clean bathroom to enjoy – and you won’t have to clean it after you’ve used it either!

• Hotel bathrooms can be a lot more stylish than our bathrooms at home. If you’ve treated yourself to a really swanky weekend break, expect the latest in designer bathrooms suites and fittings, flattering lighting, a huge mirror and a walk-in power shower. In fact, you probably won’t want to leave to go sight seeing!

• You can spend as long as you like in the bath without anyone disturbing you or needing to use it. And because hotel bathrooms are set on the inside of the room rather than the window side, you won’t be able to hear sounds from the streets outside as you relax.

• If there are any faults you can call reception and they will fix it for you, so you won’t have to lift a finger. If the bathroom’s really faulty, then you might get upgraded to a better class of room.

Bathrooms in Hotels: cons

• Obviously you’ll have had to pay for the room and its ensuite, and hotel bathrooms with a touch of class don’t come cheap.

• Not all hotel bathrooms are luxurious. Many can have tiny baths, temperamental showers, and be on the old and dirty side.

• You don’t know who’s used the bathroom before you, or what’s gone on in there. It may have been cleaned for your use, but there’s just no knowing.